Category: Events and Awards

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Accessibility Stocking Fillers

Do you want to find out how to make your content accessible for everyone?

In our latest 3Ps we covered a range of accessibility tools and tips to ensure that we can quickly and easily make new and existing materials accessible to everyone.

In the session we covered three topics:

  • How to use styles, colours, alt text to create accessible content.
  • Tools available to students and staff so make content accessible and support the
  • Some of the frustrations staff and students might experience and how to overcome them.

If you weren’t able to attend the session you can have a go and test your accessibility knowledge with the Accessibility Checking Activities.

Resources

Microsoft Office

The Microsoft Office Accessibility Center is a great place to look for handy guides on producing accessible Office documents with out of the box accessible templates. Microsoft Office is available for free to all staff and students and has some great Microsoft Accessibility Features built in.

Adobe Acrobat PDFs

Staff and Students have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro from University Machines. Acrobat has a built in PDF Accessibility Checker which can automatically fix issues with your PDFs and also advise you on why certain elements aren’t accessible.

Video Captions

The session focused mainly of text and images but if you’d like to find out more about creating accessible audio and video content you check out our blog post on creating captions.

On Campus

For disabled users accessing IT services on campus we offer specialist software and hardware available to staff and students via our Easy Access Accessibility Service.

Printable Checklists

Download and print copies of our A4 checklists for Word, Powerpoint, PDFs and Blackboard and keep them with you for quick reference.

What support is available?

The Student Health and Wellbeing Service provides information, advice and guidance on a wide range of student support issues, helping students to maximise their potential whilst at university.

If you have any queries about creating accessible content get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to offer advice and guidance – contact LTDS@ncl.ac.uk

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Peer Mentoring Thank You Event 2018

Group of mentors

Peer Mentoring Thank You Event 2018

Peer mentors from across the University gathered at the Lindisfarne Room on Monday 26 November 2018 to celebrate another successful year of the peer mentoring scheme.

Peer Mentors and Staff Coordinators were invited to this celebration as a thank you from the University following another excellent start to the academic year with new students being supported and encouraged as they started their journey on their chosen programme of study and made the transition into Higher Education. These students (the mentees) were invited to provide their opinion of the scheme and to share the many benefits they had experienced as a result of having a peer mentor:

“Explained clearly what it was like from a student perspective and what I should expect to know and learn and how to do so.”

Continue reading “Peer Mentoring Thank You Event 2018”

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Advance HE Subject Networks Engagement Events

Advance HE are holding a series of engagement events to help shape the way they can support Subject Networks, a method of sharing ideas and best practice . These are being developed as a result of a recent consultation and Advance HE are hoping to engage with staff from a range of institutions to ensure that they meet the needs of modern day HE.

As we are an institutional member of Advance HE, attendance at these events is free for Newcastle University staff.

Please find details of the events below. The links will take you directly to the Advance HE booking page: Continue reading “Advance HE Subject Networks Engagement Events”

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Call for proposals: SEDA Spring Conference 2019

Collaboration to support the student experience and progression

09 May 2019 – 10 May 2019
Location: Clayton Hotel, Belfast

Proposals are welcome in one or more of the following areas:

· Programme, module and learning design
· Course/programme assessment and feedback strategies
· ‘Students as partners’ and related ‘change agent’ initiatives
· Professional development for staff
· Learning and mobile technologies
· Digital capability and institutional support
· Curriculum leadership and staff roles
· Internationalisation
· Widening participation
· Induction and transitions
· Apprenticeships
· Inclusivity
· Wellbeing
· Learning development

Find out full information on the conference website.  Proposals should be submitted to office@seda.ac.uk by Monday 26 November 2018 at 5pm.

 

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The changing landscape of Higher Education: Learning and Teaching Conference 2019: Call for submissions open

Quayside

We are pleased to announce that the theme for the Learning and Teaching Conference 2019 is ‘The changing landscape of Higher Education’.

This one day event will be held on Wednesday 3 April 2019 and will explore:

  • How do we deliver our vision for a Newcastle education set out in the University Vision and Strategy, in a constantly changing higher education landscape?
  • How can we reflect these changes in the education experience?
  • How do these changes positively impact on teaching and the student experience?

This year’s conference will explore the landscape of change under 4 key themes:

  • Supporting all students to fulfil their potential: This will incorporate innovations and effective practice around equality, diversity and inclusion; international students, accessibility, student wellbeing and student voice
  • Education and research: How students benefit from studying in a research-intensive environment and professional practice
  • Employability and engagement: Working with students as partners, and with partners in business, industry in the public sector, to provide educational experiences that allow our students to succeed and thrive in the new world of work being created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (including how these experiences support the social impact, both locally and globally, of the considerations of widening participation and outreach)
  • Technology enhanced learning: Using digital tools now and in the future to support flipped, blended and online learning and assessment and feedback

Further details about the conference  are available on the conference website and the we will continue to update this website with details of the keynote speakers and programme over the coming months.

Call for submissions

The call for submissions is now open and staff and students at all Newcastle University campuses are warmly invited to submit an abstract. The deadline for submissions is 11 January 2019 . Find out more and submit your abstract here.

Registration open

All staff and students are invited to attend this inspiring event. Please book your place now. We look forward to welcoming you on the day.

 

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British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR): Student Blog Post

By  BA Hons Philosophy student

Applying for the British Conference of Undergraduate Research was on of the best things I have done in my university life. The process was surprisingly simple, despite what I first thought.

I heard of the scholarship from a lecture, I wrote my abstract and many members of staff were willing to help me edit it for the application. The abstract was accepted by the scholarship and they provided me with a lot of support to refine it before my BCUR application. All of the help of the Scholarship committee and my lectures set me up for the application well, and because of their support I was invited to the conference. Continue reading “British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR): Student Blog Post”

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Advance HE: Teaching and Learning Conference

The theme of the 2019 Advance HE  Teaching and Learning Conference  is Innovation for Teaching Excellence and papers that cover the following themes are welcomed:

  • Interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary innovation in teaching and learning practice
  • Innovation in inclusive curricula
  • Innovation in blended and immersive teaching and learning practice
  • Innovative practice that aids transition and retention
  • Innovation practice to support employability
  • Innovative practice to enhance assessment and feedback

Call for papers now open

The deadline for submissions is 7 January 2019.

Event details

Conference theme:

2-4 July 2019

Day One: Arts and Humanities, Health and Social Care

Day Two: Thematic/interdisciplinary

Day Three: STEM, Social Sciences

Find out more on the Advance HE website

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Could you help review undergraduate research abstracts?

Delegation of staff and students at the BCUR

Reviewers are sought to help select students with the best undergraduate research to represent Newcastle University at British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) events.

Successful students will represent Newcastle University with a poster or oral presentation at the main BCUR conference in the Easter vacation, or with a poster at Posters in Parliament in February / March.

What you need to know:

  • You will need to have time the w/c 26th November to review approximately five to ten 300 word abstracts.
  • Staff from all disciplines are welcome, as specific subject knowledge is not required to review the abstracts. BCUR’s events are generalist, so contributions are expected to convey findings and their importance to a non-specialist audience.
  • Rating criteria will be provided.
  • The reviewing panel will not convene physically; it will be done electronically.

Find out more or volunteer by getting in touch here.

This opportunity to submit an abstract to the conference will be promoted to students soon. If you have any questions, or know of any students with some impressive undergraduate research, feel free to contact Stephen Overy or Damien Hall here .

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Introducing the new University Education Development Fund

University Education Development Fund with a picture of Professor Suzanne Cholerton

Do you have an idea that could have an impact on students’ learning or teaching across the university?

Did you know that there is central funding available to support both local and institution-wide initiatives and projects?

The new University Education Development Fund offers a fantastic opportunity to propose and deliver projects with real benefit to students’ education at Newcastle University.

Envisioned and chaired by the PVC Education Prof Suzanne Cholerton this fund will support a wide range of projects from across all campuses and is open to all staff to apply.

Proposed projects must align with and further the aims and key themes of the Education Strategy.

Funding is available of: Continue reading “Introducing the new University Education Development Fund”